The SBU has charged a Russian intelligence officer with recruiting teenagers for sabotage

The Security Service of Ukraine has formally charged, in absentia, Artem Shmuly, a Russian citizen and employee of Russian military intelligence (GRU), with organizing a network to recruit Ukrainian children to carry out sabotage and terrorist attacks in Odesa. The suspect is charged with financing terrorism and organizing a terrorist act. 

The Russian intelligence officer found teenagers aged 13 to 18 through Telegram channels where they were looking for easy money. For money, the children agreed to set fire to vehicles belonging to the Ukrainian Defense Forces and Ukrzaliznytsia facilities in Odesa. 

Prior to this, Shmul gave them test assignments, including forcing them to distribute provocative leaflets throughout the city. Following GRU instructions, the teenagers managed to destroy a National Guard truck and a relay cabinet on the railroad tracks, recording the fires on their phone cameras for a report.

In May 2024, SBU officers detained four members of this group while they were attempting to set fire to two military vehicles. During searches, their smartphones were seized, containing evidence of collaboration with Russian intelligence and anti-Ukrainian propaganda. Investigators classified the actions of the detained teenagers as sabotage and an attempt to commit a terrorist act. Law enforcement agencies are currently continuing comprehensive measures to find and punish the Russian organizer of the network.

Source: SBU.

As a reminder, the SBU detained a woman suspected of working for Russian intelligence services.

The SBU also uncovered new schemes for evading mobilization across Ukraine.